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Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [19 - 24 Aug]

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During the week, 21 Indian startups raised around $144.46 million in funding. These deals count 5 growth-stage deals and 13 early-stage deals while 3 early-stage startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. During the previous week, 25 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised $432 million in funding. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 5 startups raised $91 million in funding this week. D2C water purifiers and air conditioners manufacturer Livpure spearheaded its $28 million worth Series C round. D2C ice cream brand Hangyo raised $25 million followed by online lending platform Axio, MSMEs-focused fintech lender FlexiLoans, and D2C luggage brand Uppercase with $20 million, $9 million, and $9 million in funding, respectively. [Early-stage deals] Further, 13 early-stage startups secured funding worth $53.46 million during the week. Healthtech care startup Even led the list followed by equity investment platform InvestorAI, D2C spice brand Zoff, cricket league featuring senior cricketers Legends League Cricket (LLC), and fintech startup TransBnk among others. As many as 3 startups that did not disclose the funding amount raised are; PadelPark, NxtQube, and TailBlaze. For more information, visit TheKredible. [City and segment-wise deals] In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR-based startups co-led with 7 deals each followed by Mumbai, Mangalore, Chennai, Raipur, and Nashik. Segment-wise, Fintech startups are in the top spot with 7 deals. E-commerce, Sportstech, Agritech, AI, Aquatech, and Dronetech startups followed this list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, Seed funding deals are on top with 7 deals followed by 5 Series A, 2 pre-Series A, 2 Series B, and 1 Debt deal. Pre-seed, pre-Series B, Series C, and Series G deals are next on the list. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding slipped 66.57% to $144.46 million as compared to around $432 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $225.36 million with 26 deals per week. [Fund launches] Titan Capital Winners Fund, backed by Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, has raised its target corpus of Rs 200 crore. This fund will focus on follow-on investments in standout companies from its seed portfolio, with Bahl and Bansal serving as the largest investors. Meanwhile, Volt VC has launched its first fund, Volt VC Fund-1, aimed at closing the gap in pre-seed funding for startups across India. Additionally, Arka Investment Advisory Services has completed the final closing of its Arka Credit Fund I, a sector-agnostic, diversified credit fund that supports mid-market corporates. Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah has introduced the PW School of Startups (SOS), backed by a Rs 100 crore fund, to nurture entrepreneurial skills and support 100 startups over the next five years through training, mentorship, and capital access. [Key hirings] Brij Bhushan, co-founder and former COO of Magicpin, has joined Prime Venture Partners as a full-time venture partner. In this role, he will be deeply involved in the firm’s investment strategies, portfolio management, and fundraising efforts, contributing his extensive experience in building and scaling startups. Sachin Bansal’s Navi Finserv onboarded former RBI executive Anil Kumar Misra as their non-executive chairman at the board. In other leadership updates, Perfios has appointed Rajesh Kini, formerly with Infosys, as their new CFO, while the Veefin Group has named Shantanu Bairagi as CEO of Veefin Capital, focusing on MSME supply chain finance. Additionally, Zapcom Group Inc. has appointed Prasanth Nair as CTO to lead their engineering initiatives, leveraging his expertise in global team management. [Mergers and Acquisitions] Zomato, the leading food delivery platform in India, has announced the acquisition of Paytm’s movies and ticketing business. This strategic move will allow Zomato to expand its offerings beyond food delivery and cater to a wider customer base. The acquisition is valued at Rs 2,048 crore ($244 million) and includes two of Paytm’s subsidiaries, TicketNew and Insider, along with their 280 employees. Zappfresh, an online retailer of fresh fish and meat, has acquired Bonsaro, a Mumbai-based company specializing in the online delivery of poultry, goat, and seafood. This acquisition marks Zappfresh’s second strategic move, following the acquisition of Sukos Foods-owned Dr. Meat in July 2023. With Bonsaro, Zappfresh aims to expand its operations in the western region and enhance its brand presence. [Shutdown] Kenko Health, a Mumbai-based healthcare startup, has shut down operations due to a financial and operational crisis. Despite raising over $13.7 million and achieving significant revenue growth, the company faced mounting losses and failed to secure an insurance license. The startup’s offices have been closed, leaving employees without pay for months. Founders Aniruddha Sen and Dhiraj Goel admitted the firm ran out of funds and was taken to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by investors. Attempts to secure further funding or investor support failed, leading to the company’s collapse. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [Financial results this week] MobiKwik posts Rs 875 Cr revenue and Rs 14 Cr profit in FY24 [News flash this week] Ola Electric market share drops more than 30% in last two months Baron Capital values Swiggy at $14.7 Bn How Fampay’s Rs 200 Cr bet on fintech for teenagers fell flat Paytm proposes to cut directors’ remuneration Swiggy eyes $15 Bn valuation for its $1-1.2 Bn IPO RBI imposes Rs 4 Cr fines on LenDen Club and LiquiLoans NCLT approves slice and North East Small Finance Bank’s merger IPV announces full exit from Fashor with 33% IRR Mitron TV, TrainMan co-founders set to launch AI startup Callmatic [Conclusion] The weekly funding again dwindled 66.57% to $144.46 million this week. Meanwhile, four startup-focused funds launched this week namely Titan Capital (Winners Fund), Volt VC, Arka Credit Fund, and PW School of Startups. Ola Electric, which recently went public, has seen a significant decline in its market share in the electric two-wheeler segment over the past two months. According to a report by Jefferies, Ola’s market share dropped from 49% in Q1 FY25 to 39% in July, and further to 33% in August. Meanwhile, TVS has regained some ground, increasing its market share to 19% in August from 15% in Q1 FY25. Despite this recent decline, Ola Electric has maintained its dominance in the market, with its market share having grown from 21% in FY23 to 35% in FY24. US investor Baron Capital has valued Swiggy at $14.74 billion as of June 2024, reflecting a slight decrease of 2.6% from its previous valuation of $15.1 billion in March. This dip is attributed to rupee depreciation. The valuation update comes as Swiggy prepares for its $1.25 billion initial public offering (IPO), for which it has already received shareholder approval and reportedly filed confidential papers with SEBI in May. Paytm has proposed reducing the remuneration of its independent directors as part of an effort to enhance corporate governance. The annual compensation for independent directors, currently up to Rs 2.07 crore, will be capped at Rs 48 lakh from April 2024, with a fixed portion of Rs 20 lakh and the rest tied to their attendance and contributions. Meanwhile, Fampay, a fintech startup that initially targeted teenagers, raised $38 million in 2021 but faced setbacks after losing its payment partner, IDFC Bank, in February 2023. This led to a pivot towards becoming a UPI-focused app, but the company still reported significant losses of Rs 120 crore in FY23. Despite entering the top 10 UPI apps by late 2023, Fampay’s future remains uncertain, with a potential selloff being a plausible outcome as it struggles to achieve profitability.